This is a blog set up by Eli Fuller (me) to help keep readers informed and to promote our little country to prospective guests. It's also to make sure that new info about our island is passed on quickly and also to receive feedback on this info. Of course most of the things i write about have themes of ecology and usually have quite a bit to do with my company Adventure Antigua. Make comments anytime you want, but check the site above to book your adventure.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Nick Fuller Sr, one of the first of Antigua's Tourism Investors and my grandfather.

My grandfather was a very interesting man. As kids we feared him and from the stories we heard growing up, it was probably for good reason. Anyway, a few years ago we found this online and I think I would like to republish it here just in case the website we found goes down.

Nicholas A. Fuller 1944

Cullum No. 14392 • Mar 4, 1998 • Died in Antigua, West Indies

Interred in Antigua and Barbuda

Nicholas Anthony Fuller was born in Toledo, OH, in 1919. He
attended Central Catholic and Waite High Schools in Toledo and the West
Point Preparatory School at Ft. Harrison, IN. Before attending West
Point, he served in several Army units.
He received an appointment to USMA from Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin
of the 1st Congressional District of Montana and joined his future
classmates on 4 Jul 1941.
A classmate wrote in the ’44 Howitzer: “The fantastic mind
with a body to match. Consistently inconsistent, tough but
great-hearted, ‘The Ace’ has been ‘gettin’ knuckles’ from The Fates for
too long. With inconceivably little formal education, he proved that
common sense is the real essential. His repulsive but conclusive wit and
earthy sense of values go to the Air Corps. I’m making book on you,
Nick.”
Unfortunately, because of poor eyesight, Nick was not commissioned with
his classmates in June 1944. While his eyesight was being evaluated at
Walter Reed, he sat for the Foreign Service examinations. Given a
disability discharge, he joined Willys-Overland as a research engineer
to await the results of the exam. While he was working on a jeep project
at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a classmate introduced him to Adele “Del”
Marie Wilkens.
After acceptance by the State Department and a “crash course on the
basics of life in the foreign service,” he was placed in charge of the
American Consulate in Antigua. Following a transfer to Columbia, Nick
decided that that revolution-torn country was no place to raise a
family, left the foreign service, and joined an advertising firm in New
York City.
By this time, he and Adele had married, but, as he later put it, “The
leisurely life in the tropics had taken it’s toll, I could not tolerate
the white heat of the New York pace for the infernal commuting between
Nyack and New York. Hence, I packed my carpet bag and returned to lovely
Antigua. I have built a little hotel right on the beach and also own a
theater.”
The little hotel, The Lord Nelson, was the first commercial lodging on
Antigua. Nick operated it successfully until around 1980, when he went
across the island and built “Callaloo” next to Curtain Bluff, the most
expensive resort on the island. As a classmate put it, “Nick entertained
his friends at Callaloo while Del operated a strictly-for-profit Lord
Nelson.” Unfortunately, Lord Nelson was badly damaged in a hurricane in
September 1998.
Nick became a legend in the Caribbean. He was known on every island. He
and a big Pole named Stash (nobody could spell or pronounce his name,
Stanislaw Vishinski), became partners in building fuel depots around the
islands for yachts and other private vessels. Nick did the politicking
and Stash did the construction.
Nick loved to travel, but he didn’t own a suitcase or a wallet. He
carried a sport coat and an open canvas shopping bag containing changes
of underwear, several bottles of Glenlivet Scotch, and a box of Cuban
cigars (gifts for his hosts, he said). Close inspection would reveal a
tie around a polo shirt and one pair of khaki trousers. Otherwise, he
was immaculate and dignified.
He didn’t trust wallets. He carried a thick roll of $100 bills crammed
into his pocket. He never had a credit card. His only card was an
Antiguan driver’s license with a picture of him holding a glass of
Scotch. Late in life, he finally got a social security number.
Nick was a character among characters—a star among lesser lights. And
Del let him shine. There are legends about Nick’s eccentric behavior. A
match for the likes of Hemingway, Nick was surprisingly well read and
had a thorough knowledge of world affairs.
Nick never missed a class reunion at West Point. He was extremely proud
of his classmates and the West Point tradition. His friends varied from
the Mellons of Philadelphia and New York to the nearby goatherd.
Nick and Del had three handsome sons—Nick, Johnny, and Jimmy; and four
beautiful daughters—Mary, Jill “Jelly Bean,” Katherine, and Elizabeth
“Dee Dee.” Sadly, Mary and Dee Dee preceded him in death. Nick, Jr.,
became a very respected doctor in Antigua, and John became a prominent
and influential lawyer.

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